Here is where we are all free to share the stories that honor our equine friends of past and present. Tell us your story of Life and Love so that we might all learn something about the dignity and unconditional love our dear companions teach us everyday.

Cochise - Forever Loved

Richard Casamento - Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Fourteen years ago, my husband, who has excellent taste and a good eye (in women and horses!) surprised me with a beautiful 8 yr. old quarter/ Thoroughbred cross, red & white paint. He named him Cochise. And it didn't take long to fall in love with him. Unfortunately, four years later, I lost him to laminitis/founder. I tried every avenue to save him but it wasn't meant to be.

Initially the vet suggested I not be there when we put him down, but I insisted. I told him I couldn't let a good friend die alone. As the vet injected him, Cochise drew in his last breath. He looked at my husband, then the vet and the last person he saw before he closed those beautiful brown eyes and fell gracefully to the ground, was me. I believe he knew how much I loved him and did everything in my capacity to save him.

I mourned for many years. I lamented that we had been robbed of precious time and I was very angry about it. But I gradually realized what I had been given and decided to appreciate the time together rather than rue the time I felt I was owed. Whether I had him 4 years, 14 or 28 years, it doesn't matter. We were given the opportunity to share our lives in an integrated woven tapestry between two living beings of different species. What matters is that we had each other and I cherish the love today. Since love is forever, I will have him forever. I wasn't robbed; I received one of the greatest gifts I could ask for!

Sometimes lessons take a while to sink in. Often they aren't so cut and dried and time isn't the enemy; it becomes our friend. The message may have arrived in cryptic form and we need to perform a little detective work to fully grasp them. We may intellectually understand, but it is when we accept our lessons emotionally, that change happens! It's what we do with the lessons that make the greatest difference.